Standing Alone
by Callisto-HK
Summary: Where's everybody when Tony needs help? And just who's out there to take him out? Gibbs is at a loss about what to do and like he doesn't have a hard enough time fixing things with his SFA, he has to face some inner demons, as well and that might just be the end of Tony! /Set in season 10. Rated T for Language!/ Case-fic!
1. Chapter 1

_**AN: This story happens during season 10, but I think it's safe to say it's spoiler-free.  
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_**Hope you enjoy it and share your thoughts with me.**_

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**. Standing Alone .**

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What woke him up wasn't a gentle touch on his cheek by a beautiful woman lying beside him. It wasn't the shrieking ring of a phone, either. It wasn't even the annoying sound of his alarm clock, which he hadn't used for years.

No; it was nothing nice and it was nothing annoying.

It was just something very _very_ painful.

The pain was coming from his chest and his stomach and he absently wondered if he was having a heart attack or something. But he'd never had a heart attack before, so how was he supposed to tell?

Except, he _could_ tell.

He could tell, because although he, thankfully, had never had a heart attack before, he'd been stabbed so many times that he couldn't remember every single one of them. And the pain he was experiencing was that of a stab wound.

_Stab wound?_

_Holy Sh-_

His eyes flew open and he looked around, realizing that he was lying on the ground; he wasn't sure where that place was exactly, but the ground beneath him was hard and cold and there were so many trees around him.

Oh, and his hands and his face hurt, too. But he wouldn't have noticed it if he hadn't tried to move his hand to his chest and hadn't grimaced with the escalation of pain.

Finally, ignoring the other painful spots, he touched his chest and the wetness on his fingers told him all he needed to know and with that confirmation came the memory of what had happened.

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He'd just stepped out of his car to go to his apartment when he heard footsteps behind him.

Having great instincts and being well-experienced had helped him to spin around and dodge in time to avoid the blow to the head which was clearly meant to render him unconscious.

He'd tried to reach for his gun, but one of the two thugs had been too close and had grabbed his arm. With his free arm, the agent threw a punch towards the other guy and simultaneously used his head to hit the man who'd grabbed him, in the nose.

Both men momentary let go of him, but what Tony hadn't noticed was the clenched fist of thug number 2 that was coming his way. He staggered back at the blow to his face and had to blink a few times to regain his focus.

With throbbing pain in his cheek, he struggled to get the upper hand, but it was two against one. No, it was _three _against one, because Tony could take care of two men and he'd almost been the winner of the fight until the third guy appeared behind him, grabbed his shoulder and turned him around. Before Tony could react, the man, very coldly, dug a knife into his chest, pulled it out and once again dug it into his stomach.

"It's a pleasure meeting you again, Agent DiNozzo. Aron Simmons says _'Hi'_." said the man with a sickening smirk as he stabbed him another time.

By then, Tony had a hard time keeping his mind alert enough to get what was happening around him and standing on his feet seemed to be even harder; he would've definitely ended up on the ground if the two other thugs didn't have him restrained by his arms.

"Get him to the car and drive out of the city, then throw him out of the car. Leave his belongings with him; just make sure his blood won't stain the car." the guy who seemed to be the boss ordered before turning on his heel and walking away.

As hard and painful as it was, Tony tried one last time to get free; he stamped his foot on something that he suspected to be someone else's foot and the muffled yell that left the mouth of the guy holding him gave him some satisfaction; it didn't last long, though, because next thing he knew, he was hit in the head with something hard and a few seconds later he went limp.

.

Now... Now he had to find a way back to the civilization or he'd bleed to death in the damn woods.

Remembering that they hadn't taken away his belongings, he feebly searched for his phone and almost cried with joy when he found it.

Both his body and mind were numb from the cold weather, pain and blood loss and his brain was working on autopilot; so, he didn't know whose number he'd dialed until the phone rang and rang and he got no answer and finally he looked at the screen to notice that he'd called Gibbs.

_'What the hell? Why was Gibbs _not _answering his phone? What if they had gotten Gibbs, too?' _Those were the thoughts that rushed through his head; panic rose inside him and the phone fell from his shaky hand.

If it wasn't for the fact that he'd dealt with worse situations, he would've hyperventilated and passed out right then and there, but soon, he got a grip on himself and grabbed his phone again; this time he was fueled by adrenaline and concern for his boss, so when he called the next person on his list, he knew who he was calling.

Ziva's sleepy voice came from the other end of the line. "I swear to God, Tony, if this is not about a very important case, then I will kill you in a very painful way."

Tony frowned with confusion. "Case? No. No Case, Ziva. But listen-"

But the line had gone dead the moment he'd said '_no case'_.

"Dammit, David." Tony cursed angrily and dialed McGee's number.

Again, the phone rang a few times and Tony was giving up when Tim finally answered. From the noises in the background, Tony could tell that Tim wasn't at home and he just remembered that he and Abby were going to go to a new club of Abby's choice because Tim had lost a bet.

"In case you've forgotten, we're no on call, tonight." Tim shouted in the phone. "Go find someone else to pester, Tony."

And again another line went dead.

Tony's energy was draining fast and he'd run out of options. What was he supposed to do? Who was he supposed to call? He couldn't call Abby because when she was in party mood, she'd never hear her phone; besides, she'd panic if she heard about Gibbs and Tony couldn't deal with that, especially since he didn't know whether McGee was anywhere close to her or not. Ducky was out of question, too; the old ME had gone to Baltimore to help a friend and Tony didn't know if he was back yet or not.

Dialing Gibbs' number one last time, he, again, didn't get an answer; it wasn't like the last time, though. This time after a couple of rings the busy signal filled Tony's ear, indicating that his call had been declined.

He was totally confused, but he didn't know what to do and he'd almost given up altogether when one last thought came to his mind and he cursed himself out loud for not thinking about that option sooner. He was a law enforcement officer, for goodness' sake; that was supposed to be anyone's first thought, let alone an officer of the law!

Dialing _911_, he thanked God that at least that line wasn't busy; he really wasn't sure how much longer he could stay awake.

When his call was answered, Tony immediately introduced himself and asked for a patrol car to be sent to Gibbs' address, telling them that the older agent was probably hurt.

He'd totally forgotten about his own situation and if the operator hadn't asked about _his_ well-being, Tony would've ended the call without saying anything.

"Me?"

"Yes, Sir. You don't sound good. Where are you? Are you hurt?"

Tony had to think about it for a couple of seconds. Why hadn't he told the operator about himself? _Hmm, that sounded stupid._

"Sir, are you still there?"

"I'm... I'm not sure where I am."

"It's OK. Stay on the line. We'll send an ambulance your way."

"OK." he said automatically and thought that now that he'd sent someone Gibbs' way and someone was coming for him, he didn't have to worry anymore. So he let the phone slide from his blood-covered fingers as his consciousness slipped away.

...

Gibbs was in his basement, sanding a piece of wood for the chair he was making, when the first call came. Grabbing his phone, he saw Tony's name and decided not to answer it, so he dropped the ringing item on the table; after all, they weren't on call and he had a lot on his mind. If the case was urgent, Tony would show up and tell him in person; if not, the senior field agent would get the message and take charge until Gibbs was ready to show up at work.

When some minutes later the phone rang again with Tony's name on the screen, he cursed and threw it against the wall. _Why couldn't DiNozzo leave him alone?_

Ten minutes after that, when there was a knock on the door and then some people walked inside his house, calling his name, Gibbs started to question his earlier action. Maybe it'd been an urgent case and Tony couldn't waste time to come and get him.

Frowning with confusion and frustration, he grabbed his gun and quietly ascended the stairs.

"Agent Gibbs." Someone called out. "This is officer Karmer. Can you hear us, Sir?"

_Officer?_ What were cops doing in his house at that hour? Had Tony sent them to get him?

Still, Gibbs didn't trust the call and stepped in the kitchen, gun raised. "Show me some IDs."

The two officers spun around and aimed their weapons at him. "Whoa. Whoa. Easy. We're cops."

Gibbs eyed their badges and lowered his gun. "What the hell are you doing here at this hour?"

"Umm, we were told you might need help, Sir. We were ordered to look for you here." said One of the officers.

"Ordered by whom?" Gibbs growled.

"By... Umm, by an Agent DiNozzo, Sir." he replied after checking his notes. "Do you know him?"

_'DiNozzo?' _Gibbs frowned and suddenly regretted not answering his phone. _What the hell was going on?_ "Yes. Where is he? And why would he send you here?"

"We don't know the answers to those questions, Sir. We were just dispatched to this place; so we came."

Gibbs cursed under his breath. "Find out." he ordered tersely. "And stop calling me _Sir_."

The two officers exchanged a look and decided to obey. One grabbed his radio and started to ask questions.

The answers that came through the radio shocked Gibbs beyond what he liked to admit. The operator informed them that the call from Agent DiNozzo had come from somewhere out of town and that they'd lost the connection with him, but an ambulance and a patrol car were on their ways to his location.

Gibbs was lost. What had happened? Why would Tony think he was hurt? That made no sense. Unless... Unless Tony was hurt himself, and he'd been calling Gibbs to ask for help and his boss being the bastard he was, had ignored the calls. Tony must've thought about Gibbs' rule number three and probably had thought that since Gibbs was unreachable, he must've been hurt, too. Just like _he_ had been.

_Damn_.

It all made sense now.

Gibbs' gut churned; he wanted to punch a wall or slap himself over the head so hard to feel the pain for ages.

Why in the hell had he not answered Tony's call? He _knew_ Tony would never call for no reason.

He'd let Tony down and nobody knew how much time the younger man had wasted trying to find him and worrying about him. He'd been a bastard while Tony had put him first; because clearly the younger agent had called 911 and _first_ had sent some cops _his_ way to make sure Gibbs was alright; because if he'd asked for help for himself instead of telling them about his boss, they would know what was wrong with him and what had happened.

Rubbing his face, Gibbs sent the two cops their way and told them to make sure Tony would be sent to Bethesda as he grabbed his car keys and went that way to wait for his agent at the hospital.

He was really mad at himself for letting Tony down. He'd screwed up big time and Tony might be paying the price for it. Gibbs could never forgive himself if Tony didn't make it because he hadn't been able to get Gibbs on the line to ask for help or because he'd put the older agent first and had sent help his way instead of thinking about his own well-being.

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**... TBC ...**

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_**This is not another story just about rule #3! It's a case-related fic and just like my other stories, it's totally Tony-centric. **_

**All mistakes are mine.**

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	2. Chapter 2

The waiting in the hospital took way longer than Gibbs could normally stand.

He'd used the hospital's phone to call Tony's number a couple of times just to see if the whole thing was a huge mistake, but getting no answer had proved it otherwise. After that he debated whether or not he should call Ducky or someone else, but he really wasn't the type to get on the phone and inform the whole team of what was happening at any particular moment. That was why Gibbs ended up pacing up and down, _very impatiently_, in front of the ER entrance.

He'd raced towards two ambulances that had pulled over, only to find them bringing in patients who weren't his agent. So, when the third ambulance pulled over, 25 minutes after his arrival to the hospital, he only walked to it and waited to see if it was DiNozzo in there.

To his dismay, it _was_ DiNozzo and it happened to be the one ambulance with paramedics jumping out of it and yelling for help and running inside.

Gibbs hadn't even had enough time to take a good look at Tony and what he'd seen hadn't been pretty. Tony's shirt was torn open; pressure dressings were attached to his chest and abdomen and it seemed like everything, from his clothes to his whole upper body, and even to the paramedics' clothes and hands, were covered with his blood.

Rushing inside, he looked around to find someone to demand some answer, but anyone who could tell him anything was busy in the trauma room, trying to stabilize Tony's condition, and he didn't want to keep them from helping the younger man. He'd already stalled it by not answering those damn phone calls.

He'd been standing back, trying to see as much as he could and understand what was being said about his agent when someone patted his shoulder. Turning around, he was annoyed to find two strangers standing behind him.

"Excuse me, Sir, but the nurse over there said we should talk to you about Agent DiNozzo."

Gibbs frowned.

"We got to him, first." One of them said politely. "I'm Detective Miles and this is my partner, Detective Jordan."

"Where was he?" Gibbs didn't care who they were and didn't even bother to memorize their names.

"We found him in the woods on the side of the Explorer road. It seemed like he'd been thrown out of a moving car. That part of the road is pretty deserted, especially at this hour, so nobody would've noticed anything if he hadn't made that call to 911."

Gibbs winced inwardly, but nodded for them to go on.

"The scene is secure and our people are already bagging and tagging everything they might find. Although we doubt we'd find anything useful there. His clothes are probably the best thing we got at the moment."

"Was he conscious when you found him?"

"No, Sir. He was out of it and at first we thought we had a dead body on our hand." Detective Jordan informed and suddenly realized her mistake and bit her bottom lip. "I'm sorry. It came out wrong."

A haunted expression crossed Gibbs' face and he was barely able to hide the shiver that ran through his body at the image of Tony's lifeless body. "What else?"

"We found out that he's received three stab wounds and has lots of bruises and bumps. We can't tell you more about his injuries, that's the doctors' job. But it was clear that he'd been in a fight. Signs of self-defense were already forming on his knuckles."

"I want all the evidence, _everything_, sent to the NCIS' lab. We take it from here."

"Yes, Sir." they accepted readily; after all, the injured man was an NCIS agent, they couldn't fight over jurisdiction.

"Don't call me _Sir_." Gibbs growled and turned around to once again look at Tony but found the curtains pulled closed. "Hey, Detective." he called out and the cops who were leaving turned around.

"Where are his belongings?"

"Oh. Right. Sorry." The woman said as she pulled out an evidence bag from under her overcoat. "Here. His badge, wallet, phone, service weapon, his backup and two knives. All in there." she sounded amused.

Not paying any more attention to the cops as they left, Gibbs opened the bag and pulled Tony's phone out, knowing that the chances of finding any useful fingerprints on Tony's phone were slim.

His first call was to Ziva. He needed his team to go to Tony's apartment and see if the attack had happened there. But the call was declined after three rings. Gibbs frowned and called McGee; after five rings, the junior agent finally answered. "Seriously, Tony. If you call me one more time, I'll hack your system. Don't say I didn't warn you." and just like that the line went dead.

Gibbs' frown deepened and a disturbing thought came into his head. Following his gut feeling, he went through the phone's call history and as he saw the numbers Tony had called in the last two hours, his fury skyrocketed.

The last one had been to 911, which had been a couple of minutes after the call to his cell phone; the _second_ call that he'd ignored. But before that, Tony had called both Tim and Ziva and based on the reactions that he'd just got from them, Tony hadn't been successful in telling them about his situation.

_Damn. Damn. Damn._

Gibbs almost flung the phone against the wall, stopping only when he remembered that it was Tony's phone, not _his_ and that he needed it if he wanted to get anything done that night.

That didn't mean he wasn't still mad as hell, at himself _and_ at his agents. They all had let Tony down. The rule about not being unreachable had been ignored by all of them and it had cost Tony greatly. The younger man had counted on them and before calling 911, had called his _team_, only to have them turn their backs on him. Tony must be really disappointed in them. He knew _he_ would be if he were in Tony's shoes.

Finally, grabbing the phone from the nurse' station, he once again called Ziva's number.

"Ziva David." Said a drowsy voice from the other end.

"You hang up on anyone who calls you or decline the call, one more time, Agent David and you consider yourself off my team." Gibbs growled angrily into the phone.

Ziva's voice when she spoke next was totally the opposite of how she'd sounded at first. This time, she was completely alert and awake. "Ah. Gibbs. I am Sorry. I was sleeping. But I am sure I did not receive any call from you tonight. I would never hang up on you."

"But you would on Tony?" Gibbs barked.

"Shhh." The nurse glared at him and Gibbs took a breath to calm himself down. "Call McGee and get your asses to Tony's place and see if you can find any sign of a struggle there." he added when he felt calm enough not to yell.

"Why?" she sounded confused.

Taking another deep breath_, _Gibbs forced out, "he'd been attacked and is now in the hospital._ Of course_, you would've known that if you'd bothered to answer his call. Have Abby call Tony's phone." With that he slammed the receiver back into the cradle and strode away before the nurse could scold him for being so loud and rude.

Two minutes later Tony's phone started to ring with Abby's name on the screen.

"Gibbs? Gibbs. What's going on? O my God. Ziva just called me and said Tony's been attacked. Is he alright? Tim just left here to go to Tony's place. But I need to know, Gibbs. Please tell me he's alright."

"No, Abby. He's not alright." he was so disappointed in himself and his team that he didn't even try to sugarcoat things for Abby. "Get to your lab. There will be some evidence for you to go through. I want the bastard who did this, two hours ago." And again he cut the line. This time, because he saw a doctor leaving the trauma room that Tony was in.

"You here for Agent DiNozzo?" the old man asked.

Gibbs nodded. "How's he?"

"Not good." the doctor said. "But he's finally stable. They're preparing him for the OR now and Doctor Spenser will operate on him."

"Can you tell me anything about his condition?" Gibbs' feature was impassive, but he felt huge inner turmoil as he stood there and listened to the doctor.

"He's sustained three stab wounds; two to the lower abdomen and one to the chest. The one to the chest's missed all the vital organs. But one of the stab wounds to his abdomen seems to have nicked his small intestine and the other one has penetrated his spleen. I can't say anything for sure at this moment, but they might be forced to remove a part of his spleen."

Gibbs closed his eyes briefly.

"The ulna of his left forearm is broken in two places and the shoulder on the same side is dislocated. He also has a moderate concussion. Other than that, there are contusions and bruises that should heal with no problem. He's lost a lot of blood, but we've already started to replace that."

Right then the curtain opened and a nurse walked to them. "Dr. Patch, the patient is awake and is agitated. We can't calm him down. Do you want us to sedate him?"

"No. No." the man shook his head vehemently.

"He seems to think that someone called_ 'Gibbs'_ needs help." The nurse said desperately and those words cut Gibbs to the bone.

_'Dammit, DiNozzo. Stop worrying about everyone else, for once.' _he thought ruefully and then said, "I'm Gibbs. Let me talk to him."

The doctor nodded and led him to Tony's bed.

Gibbs tried not to stare at Tony's prone form with shock and kept his eyes away from his battered body and the bruises on his face. He just put his right hand gently on Tony's forehead and bent down to look Tony in the eyes.

"Hey... _Hey_." he called when Tony kept struggling weakly. "_DiNozzo_. It's me. Calm down. I'm _fine_."

Tony's eyes finally stopped on Gibbs' face and he looked alert enough. "Gi-... Gibbs?"

"Yes. Calm down and let them do their job, DiNozzo."

"You al'... alright?" he panted heavily.

Gibbs almost cringed. "I am." he said quietly.

"But..." Tony looked confused. "I called... You didn't-" the look of hurt that crossed his face next had nothing to do with the physical pain and sadly Gibbs knew it, too; but before he could say anything back, Tony's eyes closed and his head rolled to the other side.

And then he was once again unconscious.

Gibbs leaned forward and whispered something in Tony's ear, before stepping back. He, of course, would repeat his apology and the promise to make it up to him, later when Tony was conscious to hear him; but for now, he had to say those words, hoping that the unconscious man could somehow sense his true feelings.

He took one last look at Tony before sighing heavily and leaving the place.

On his way to the navy yard, he called Ducky and told him to get to the hospital to wait for some news about Tony.

He'd totally forgotten that the older man had gone to Baltimore the previous day and just got lucky that the old ME was actually back and was getting ready to go to bed.

Ducky assured him that he'd be there for the younger agent so Gibbs could start looking for answers and Gibbs was grateful for that, because he really needed to get to the office and start working on what they had. He'd let Tony down once that night. He wouldn't repeat it by letting his attackers go free, too. He just hoped that Tony would forgive him for his earlier mistake.

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**... TBC ...**

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**_Thanks for all the alerts, faves and reviews. You guys are amazing. :)_**

**All mistakes are mine.**

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	3. Chapter 3

_**A/N: I apologize for not responding to your reviews this time. Between exams, work and assignments, I really can't find enough time to even get some sleep. **_

_**But I read every single one of your reviews and I wanted to thank you all for them. **_

_**Thanks for your support, ideas and everything else. You guys are the best and I promise that as soon as I'm free from at least my exams, I'll go back to my old self and respond to your reviews individually. Till then, please share your thoughts with me and know that each and every review gives me hope.**_

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_**Just one more thing... Gibbs hasn't exactly **__**been **_a bastard in this one; he's just made a mistake. Not that it was alright, no, and you'll find out more about it soon; you just need to remember that he hasn't been extra-grumpy and I hope this way you won't find Gibbs OOC, later, when he has to grovel to get Tony's forgiveness.

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By the time Gibbs got to the Navy Yard, Abby was in her lab, waiting for him. Walking into the lab, he silently handed her the bag with Tony's belongings in it.

Looking at the blood-covered shirt and stuff, Abby paused for a moment; then she looked up and quietly said, "Gibbs?" That simple word had so many questions behind it. '_What'd happened? How was Tony? Who would do this? Would Tony be OK? Why Tony?'_

Gibbs shook his head and just hugged her. He didn't have any answers yet, but he was determined to find some as quickly as possible.

"Abby?" he pulled back and looked her in the eyes. "Were you there when DiNozzo called McGee?"

"Umm... We... We were having a drink, I think." She said a bit uncertainly and it seemed like she wasn't exactly sober.

"Did they talk? And... Are you drunk?" Gibbs frowned, looking down at the evidence bag in Abby's hands and for a moment he doubted his decision about calling Abby in.

"I'm alright. I can concentrate. This is about Tony; I can work. I promise, Gibbs, I'm good; I wouldn't do anything to risk this one; not that I'd risk any other case, but especially not this one;" she paused. "Um, what did you ask before that? Not that I'm drunk enough to forget. I swear, I'm not; it's just that I'm worried and I-"

"Did they talk?" Gibbs interrupted her with repeating his question.

"Oh, Tony and McGee, you mean? I don't know. McGee answered the phone and started talking; I could only hear a few words and that was it."

"And you did nothing when he hung up on Tony?" Gibbs narrowed his eyes.

Abby opened her mouth to say something, but then closed it and thought. The realization suddenly hit her so hard that she gasped. "O my God." she looked absolutely petrified. "He's... He was... O my God, Gibbs. He'd called to ask for help, hadn't he? And Tim hung up on him. O my God. McGee said Tony was just trying to annoy him and I believed him... O God, Gibbs. What have we done?" she sank into her chair and tears welled up in her eyes.

Gibbs shook his head. He couldn't blame Abby, she had no reason not to believe McGee, but how _all_ of them had manged to screw up on a time that mattered the most was beyond him. "You didn't know, Abby. Get to work. We need answers."

"But, Tony-"

"We owe him to find out who's behind this, Abby." he said firmly and that did the trick. Abby jumped to her feet and got to work. Not saying another word as she focused on the evidence. She was mad at herself, but mostly she was disappointed in McGee; why had he said those things about the phone call? Had he even let Tony talk before hanging up on him? How could they look in Tony's eyes again? How could they apologize for not having his back?

She shivered and shook her head fiercely to be able to focus on her work. She couldn't dwell on those thoughts now. She had to wait and berate herself, _and everyone else, for that matter,_ later. She also had to make Tony see that she wouldn't have done what Tim had if she'd received his call. But those things were for later. First, they had to find answers to help Tony.

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Walking back to the bullpen, Gibbs realized that he didn't have anything to work on, so he went to Tony's desk to see what cases the younger man was currently goring through, thinking that maybe it was a cold case and Tony'd found something in it that had put him in danger.

An hour later, Ziva and McGee walked into the bullpen, looking haggard and disheveled, and went straight to Gibbs' desk.

"Report."

"Tony's apartment was clean. We don't think he's even entered it tonight." McGee started. "Actually, we're sure he hasn't. We found his backpack on the sidewalk."

"And it seemed like a fight has happened in front of his building. We found blood on the ground." Ziva continued.

"And?"

"That is all." Ziva shook her head.

"We searched the whole area. Bagged and tagged everything that looked out of place and gave them to Abby, but other than the blood and maybe some tire tracks, we found nothing." McGee sighed. "Boss, how's Tony? What's happened?"

Ziva looked just as worried when McGee asked the question.

"You mind explaining to me why both of you ignored rule number three and turned down the call from your _superior_ agent?" Gibbs asked instead of answering McGee's question, not saying anything about how he, himself, had done the same thing.

Both junior agents had the grace to look ashamed. "It was Tony." Ziva finally said curtly, like it'd be enough of an explanation.

Gibbs bristled. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"We weren't on call, Boss. We thought it was a prank or something."

"Did either of you bother to ask him why he was calling you at that hour? Has he ever done something like that before?" he was in their faces, just barely controlling himself from tearing them apart; he might've not helped Tony, but at least he hadn't picked up the phone to hang up without asking what was going on. Not that what he'd done was any better in his book, but to answer the phone and hanging up only because they'd _assumed_ Tony was messing with them was too much.

They both shook their head quietly.

"Then why in the hell didn't you think that something might've happened? You just assumed and went with it? So you broke rule 3 _and _8?" He raised his voice. "While you were down with Abby, did you see the evidence there? Did you see his phone? It was covered in blood. You know what that means?"

And they both did; Tony had called them to ask for help and they'd ignored him.

"Why did he not call 911, first?" Ziva dared to ask.

Gibbs' eyes went cold and his voice was sad when he spoke next. "Because he's clearly had too much faith in us; thinking we'd have his back."

McGee felt like he'd been punched in the stomach. Tony's default reaction had been counting on _them_. He'd thought of them so highly that calling 911 hadn't even come to his mind. _And what had they done?_ He felt he was going to be sick.

"Us?" Ziva caught on that part instead of paying attention to anything else that Gibbs had said. "That means you have ignored his call, too?"

Gibbs turned his back on them and went to his chair.

"You did not answer his call, no?" Ziva asked again. She was mad at herself for hanging up on Tony, but right now she was angrier with Gibbs. The man was reprimanding them for doing something that he'd done as well.

"I didn't answer the phone and just because I did the same mistake, doesn't make the things I said any less true." Gibbs' voice was so weary and remorseful that Ziva's anger almost evaporated.

"No. But why did you not answer his call?" Ziva had to know.

Gibbs almost growled something like _'it's none of your business'_, but then decided to answer honestly; if only to let them know that his action hadn't been due to not thinking highly of his agent or because he didn't take Tony seriously. "Thought it was an urgent case; knew DiNozzo could handle it alone."

"How's he, Boss?"

"So who did help him at last?"

Ziva and McGee asked simultaneously.

"He's finally called 911." Gibbs answered Ziva's query first and then looked at Tim to answer his question. "We don't know yet. Concussion, multiple stab wounds to the chest and abdomen, broken arm and dislocated shoulder. He was thrown out of a moving vehicle."

The junior agents' eyes were wide with shock and fear for their teammate.

Realizing that he still didn't have anything to work on, Gibbs stood up and walked to the elevator. He could at least be there in the hospital and ask Tony if he knew anything when he was out of the surgery.

"Call my second phone if you got anything." he called over his shoulder before stepping into the elevator.

"What are we supposed to work on now?" Ziva asked Tim when they were alone.

Tim shrugged and went to his desk, his eyes fixed on Tony's empty desk. "What if-"

"Tony is going to be fine, McGee." Ziva said firmly.

"We don't know that." he retorted bitterly.

"Yes, I do. And if you want to just sit there and mop, then go do it somewhere else."

"Mope." McGee growled testily and then sighed. He knew that Ziva's default reaction was probably anger and he knew she was as upset about failing Tony as he was. "What do you suggest we do? We don't have anything?"

"We could always look at Tony's old cases; see if any of his enemies is out of prison. People he has arrested; their families or friends looking for revenge." she shrugged.

Tim's eyes went wide. "Do you have _any_ idea how many years Tony's been in law enforcement?"

"I cannot recall. Why?" she frowned.

"At least 18 years, Ziva." McGee acclaimed. "And you want us to go through _all_ his old cases? The whole navy yard should abandon what they're doing and help us with it if we're going to find anything in those files when it still matters."

"Do you have a better suggestion, McGee?" She asked, sounding exasperated. "Do you really prefer sitting there, thinking about how Tony could die because of our mistake?"

"DiNozzo could die?" Another voice asked and they both jumped slightly and looked up to find Director Vance coming down the stairs. "What is going on here? Your team is not on call tonight and tomorrow."

They both rose to their feet.

"Umm, Sir. What are you still doing here?" McGee asked bewildered.

"That's none of your business, Agent McGee. Answer the question." Vance ordered.

"Sorry, Sir. Yes, Sir. Umm. Agent DiNozzo... Tony was attacked on his way back home, tonight. He's in the hospital now."

Vance frowned. "What do we know about the attack? Has he been able to talk?"

"We know nothing." Ziva replied. "And we do not know if he has been awake. Gibbs did not stay long enough for us to ask more questions."

"Where's he, now?"

"Gibbs? Umm, I guess he went back to the hospital." McGee shrugged.

"And what mistake were you two talking about?" asked the director.

Both agents looked down and swallowed.

"I asked you a question." he said, his voice quiet and dangerous.

"Tony called us for help but we did not answer his calls. No, we did, but we hung up before he could say anything." Ziva finally provided.

Vance looked at them with shock. "And why is that, special Agent David?"

"We were not on call. So we did not take it seriously." she looked up and it was clear that she was ashamed of her own answer, even though she sounded a bit defiant.

Shaking his head with disappointment, Vance studied them both. "I hope your mistake doesn't cost your teammate his life. And let's not mention what ignoring a call from your superior would mean to your career." he added with a low tone. "I want updates on both agent DiNozzo's condition and this case. No one will get away with hurting one of my agents." with that he walked away and once again left the two ashamed junior agents alone.

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**... TBC ...**

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_**Let me know what you think. :)**_

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**All mistakes are mine.**

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	4. Chapter 4

That night turned out to be one of the longest nights of Gibbs' life. He had nothing to work on; he was angry and ashamed and he was worried as hell; but the only things he was showing on the outside were anger and impatience, and even that was confined to growls and glares, because how else could he release his anger in a hospital room?

Tony's surgery took longer than even Ducky was comfortable with and nobody bothered giving them an update until the operation was over.

Finally, after hours of having nothing to do but wait, Gibbs saw a doctor, who he assumed was Doctor Spenser, coming towards them to inform them about Tony's condition .

True to their first estimation, the stab wound to Tony's chest hadn't done much damage. But the two to his abdomen were bad. Doctor Spenser told them that they had been left with no other option but to perform partial splenectomy -_that is removal of a small portion of spleen, he'd explained later_- which with Tony's immune system already a bit affected by the plague, wasn't good news for the younger agent. The other stab wound had been easier to treat, but Tony still had to be careful for a while since it'd indeed nicked his small intestine.

The fractures to his forearm and the dislocated shoulder had been successfully repaired and set in the operating room.

So far, it seemed like Tony was going to be just fine, but that didn't mean his first night in the hospital had been uneventful.

Gibbs had spent the night in the ICU room with him and had witnessed how serious his condition was as the younger man was in too much pain to be able to concentrate on Gibbs or his questions and his body fought a high fever. It'd been around seven in the morning when his fever finally started to reduce, letting the younger agent to fall into a fitful sleep.

Gibbs left his side long enough to get a cup of coffee and then called Ducky to give him an update; he'd sent the old ME home earlier that night since two visitors couldn't stay at the same time in the ICU room.

An hour or so later, his phone started to vibrate and he once again walked outside Tony's room to answer it.

"Tell me you've got something, Abs." he couldn't help sounding a little hopeful.

The silence on the other end wasn't what he expected to receive and for a moment he feared that something had happened to Abby, too. And then the train of dreadful thoughts invaded his brain. _'What if this was another 'Ari'? What if the whole team was once again targeted? What if Abby had been hurt, too?'_

The only consolation was that everyone had spent the night in the Navy Yard.

"Abby?"

"I don't have anything. You said '_tell me you've got something_' and I don't have anything." She sounded broken, but despite the not so good news, Gibbs felt relieved. At least she was fine.

"Gibbs, there's nothing. Absolutely nothing. Not on his clothes, or his stuff or the other evidence. And Ducky told me Tony's still unconscious and he's hurt again and now he's lost part of his spleen as well, like it wasn't bad enough that his lungs were scarred and then there's Director Vance who's found out about Tim and Ziva not answering their phones when Tony'd called them and Tim told me he'd been really mad at them and-"

"Abby." Gibbs finally cut her off, feeling the room spinning around his head. _Vance knew?_ _And only about Ziva and McGee?_ Damn, he'd probably add it to their personnel files. Not that he was against it, because they'd made a huge mistake and had to pay for it. But now he had to tell the Director about his part in this mess, as well. Because he couldn't deny that he'd been at fault just as much. If not more. Because let's face it, if he'd answered Tony's call the first time around, the younger man wouldn't need to call everyone else only to be turned down. And the younger man wouldn't have to suffer longer than necessary and worry about him on top of it.

"Gibbs, can you tell me that he's going to be fine now?" she pleaded.

"He's going to be just fine, Abby." Gibbs reassured. _'Physically, at least.'_ He added silently.

.

Awareness came before consciousness. And the first thing he became aware of was the pain in his side and then the throbbing arm and head. Finally, he became aware of the fact that he was in a hospital room and apparently alone, if the lack of sound in the room was anything to go by.

But then again, Gibbs could be there. The silence didn't mean the ex-marine couldn't be in the room with him.

But then a memory rushed through Tony's head and finally the events of the previous night came back to him. And clearer than anything else, he could remember that Gibbs hadn't answered his calls. Well, nobody had, but what hurt the most was Gibbs' lack of action. Because the older agent had once again gone against his own rule, and funny those things mostly happened when Tony was involved. Besides, he'd been worried to death by the lack of response from Gibbs and he could remember that when later in the ER he'd seen Gibbs, he couldn't believe that he'd been simply ignored.

Those things meant that the silence in the room probably was an indication of an empty room.

Finally his other senses started to wake up, too and he tiredly blinked his eyes opened and looked around the room.

Yes, it was empty. Just as he'd thought.

Later, he'd blame the drug in his system for the hurt feeling that'd washed over him over the other night's events and being alone in his hospital room; but at that moment, he didn't feel like thinking logically or like a grown-up. He was hurt and he wanted to cling to it because it felt good to acknowledge what he was actually feeling, for a change.

The wound was older than the latest incident, almost as old as he was. He'd always gotten the same thing from his father when he was a kid; his old man had never been there for him and while growing up, he'd promised himself not to rely on anyone like that again. Of course, he'd forgotten that promise when he'd become a cop and that had hurt him more than once. First it'd been his partner in Baltimore and later his team at NCIS. This last incident was just the tip of the iceberg. And probably the worst they'd done to him.

The look of hurt was still in Tony's eyes when Gibbs walked into the room after his talk with Abby.

Tony frowned and instantly put his mask on. There was no need for Gibbs to know how much he'd succeeded in hurting Tony.

"Hey." Tony croaked and visibly winced at the sound that left his mouth.

Stepping outside for a moment, Gibbs addressed a nurse. "Can I have a cup of ice chips?" And then he went back to the room and smiled slightly down at his agent. "How're you feeling?"

"Like I've swallowed a frog." Seriously, he did sound that bad.

Gibbs smirked. "Other than that?"

"Sore." Tony replied honestly which caught Gibbs by surprise.

Tony, unaware of Gibbs' shock over his frankness, frowned and tried to remember more about the other night's events and suddenly his eyes widened. "Shit." he pushed himself up and yelped when his stomach flared up with pain.

"Dammit, DiNozzo." Gibbs grabbed his good shoulder and held him down, watching as a nurse rushed inside, put the glass of ice chips on the night stand and injected something into Tony's IV.

A couple of minutes later, Tony's breathing calmed down and the low moaning, that he most definitely was unaware that he was producing, stopped.

"You better?" Gibbs asked when Tony started to relax under his hand.

The nod he got was his only answer as Tony tried to make a mental note not to move again for the next two weeks.

"What the hell were you thinking jumping up like that?" Gibbs growled as he helped Tony with some ice chips.

Moving the ice around in his mouth, Tony let it sooth his sore throat before he started to talk. "Don't know really. Wanted to get to work."

"Get to work?"

"Yeah," Tony shrugged and winced. "I know who did this to me."

Gibbs's eyes widened slightly. That had been what he'd wanted to ask Tony the whole night. "You saw him?"

"I saw three guys. But they were hired goons."

"How do you know that?"

"Because one of them told me that_ 'Aron Simmons'_ had said _'hi'_!" Tony looked Gibbs in the eyes and watched as his words sank in.

"That bastard." Gibbs blurted out.

.

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"Umm, who's Aron Simmons, boss?" McGee asked with confusion when later Gibbs strode into the bullpen and barked the name.

"I want that bastard here yesterday."

"Gibbs?" Vance called as he walked down the stairs. "Care to explain?"

Gibbs went to Tony's desk, opened one of the cabinets behind the desk and pulled out a case file from under some other files. Opening it, he dropped the case on Tony's desk top. "Aron Simmons." he pointed to the file. "He was the head of an arm dealing gang back when DiNozzo and I were a two man team. We sent Tony in and busted his ring, but the bastard got away and fled the country."

"And he's back now?" Vance asked as he studied the file.

"Seems so. He's the one who's hired those goons to attack DiNozzo."

"Tony told you that? He's awake?" McGee asked with hopeful eyes.

Gibbs ignored him and continued his tirade. "But even if he's not back in the country, I want him found and brought in."

"Why did they not kill Tony when they had the chance?" Ziva asked and when everyone's shocked eyes turned to her, she quickly corrected herself. "No. Not that I want him dead. I am just trying to understand what his plans are."

"He wants us to suffer." Gibbs growled.

"Who's with DiNozzo right now?" asked the Director.

"Ducky and another agent."

"Go back to the hospital." Vance ordered, knowing that no one like Gibbs could protect his SFA. "We'll let you know when we have something; there's nothing for you to do here."

"This won't be easy. The dirtbag has sent his goons, telling them to reveal his name and then let Tony live to mock us. He thinks he can get to Tony whenever he wants."

"And what do _you_ think?"

The silence that followed and the anguish in Gibbs' eyes spoke volume.

"He's that good?" That was actually a disturbing thought.

"I won't let him get to Tony. But you know DiNozzo, the moment he can move around, he won't sit tight."

"I doubt he'd sit tight even before that." Vance sighed. Gibbs had never been able to really bench his SFA. Sometimes the younger man was worse than Gibbs; he definitely was as pig-headed. "Go back to the hospital and take a laptop with you. He might be able to help you somehow."

Gibbs frowned. "You saying I need _his_ help to use a laptop?"

Vance rolled his eyes. "He might not be a computer genius, but I've come to the conclusion that he's not a novice and he's definitely better than you when it comes to technology." With that he grabbed Simmon's file and walked out of the bullpen. He'd meant it when he said no one would get away with hurting one of his agents.

They were going to bring that scumbag to justice and they'd do it before he could hurt anyone else; certainly before he could once again get his hands on Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo.

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**... TBC ...**

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_**Thanks for all your support. Let me know what you think. :)**_

_**Shout out to the amazing XX-Samantha-XX for looking over this chapter.**_

_****__**Next chapter, Gibbs stays with Tony and will finally address the elephant in the room**_! ;)  


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**All mistakes are mine.**

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	5. Chapter 5

Gibbs entered Tony's room and found him asleep. "Hey, Duck."

"Jethro." Ducky looked up from the book he was reading. "Have you found anything yet?"

"We will." he stated with total certainty.

"I'm sure you will." The older man nodded his head reassuringly. "I better go back and finish a few things now that you are here, though." he got up from his chair, eying his old friend as he studied the man in the bed; he could feel that there was a tension between the two agents.

He didn't know what was going on, but there was something akin to guilt in the lead agent's eyes whenever he looked at Tony and if it wasn't for the fact that Tony had become a bit tense when his Boss' name had been mentioned earlier, Ducky would've thought that Gibbs was just blaming himself for Tony getting hurt. But well, he'd felt that edginess and had decided that it was better to stay out of it and let them solve it on their own.

"Has he been awake, at all?" Gibbs asked before Ducky could leave.

"Not for long. He woke up some minutes ago; asked what was going on and I explained to him that you've assigned an agent to stay at the door and that he has no reason to worry." he paused. "Jethro, if I might ask, has anything occurred between you and Anthony?" Well, he could push a little, right?

Gibbs looked away from the ME's eyes and assessed the younger man in the bed.

"Ah, I see." the old ME sighed, quickly catching on the unsaid words. "Well, I suggest you fix your problems before they fester."

"He talk to you?" Gibbs asked morosely.

"Not with words. But with my age and experience, it is not hard to read the anguish in someone's eyes. I did let him know that he could talk to me if he felt the urge, but we both know that the young boy never talks about important things that hurt him. You need to mend the situation, Jethro and you might need to give him more than a glass of bourbon and a plate of steak, this time. Put your pride aside if you want to make amends." with that advice he left the room.

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Gibbs was standing by the window, looking at the cloudy sky and sipping his coffee when Tony started to moan.

Turning back, he realized that the younger agent was still out of it, but sheen of perspiration had covered his face and he was clenching the sheets with his right hand. Walking to the bed, he pushed the PCA pump to release some pain med into Tony's vein and sure enough, a few moments later Tony's breathing calmed down and a few minutes after that he started to stir.

"Gibbs." Tony blinked tiredly when finally the blurry vision cleared. "What are you doing here?"

"Making sure you'll stay out of trouble." Gibbs smirked lopsidedly.

"Since when?"

"Since when what?" The older agent's smirk faded. Was Tony implying that he didn't care about his well-being? He might've made a few mistakes in the past regarding Tony's health or safety, but surely Tony didn't think he didn't care, right? Surely Tony still trusted him, didn't he?

"You do that personally." Tony explained.

_'Oh'_ Gibbs almost sighed with relief. "Not trusting anyone else with that, this time."

Tony's eyes stayed on him and the flicker of doubt in them pulled at Gibbs' heart.

"I also..." Gibbs braced himself for using the 'S' word. "I need to apologize to you for last night." he knew that this time there was no way around apologizing; he owed it to Tony to show him that he was aware of the mistake he'd made and that he valued the younger man enough to admit to it.

Tony was confused for a moment but then he remembered what Gibbs was talking about and averted his gaze to look at the ceiling, trying to hide the anger and disappointment that has suddenly started to bubble within him. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to say.

"I know I screwed up, Tony, but before I explain anything, I need to know something; do you still trust me?" Gibbs had to know.

Tony finally looked back and studied his boss. He pondered for a few seconds and felt that there might be an explanation why Gibbs hadn't answered his calls; at least he hadn't done what his other teammates had. He just had been unreachable and that could happen to anyone. Heck, for all he knew, Gibbs could've left his phone somewhere and- But that didn't explain the declined phone call. "I was worried they might've hurt you, too." Tony stated wearily instead of answering the question he'd been asked.

Gibbs held Tony's gaze, but for fracture of a second, remorse and pain filled his eyes. "Yes. I got it when that two police officers ran into my house and started yelling." he said somberly. "I'm sorry for putting you through that." After the first apology, it didn't seem that hard to voice his heart feelings. "If I've answered your calls, help would've gotten to you sooner; you wouldn't have suffered so much." One would say it wasn't like Gibbs to admit to his mistake and apologize, let alone being so open about it; but Gibbs, despite being reserved and introvert, knew the right time to open up; besides, Ducky's words were still echoing in his ears; _he needed to put his pride aside if he wanted to fix things._

Tony sighed. He couldn't blame Gibbs for his suffering. With or without Gibbs, he was already injured. "I've already been stabbed. You couldn't change _that_."

"Maybe not; but you had to suffer longer because no one answered your calls. And on top of that, you worried yourself for me and you put me ahead." Gibbs took a deep breath. "Thank you." he added sincerely.

Tony raised his eyebrows, but said nothing; he was a little taken aback, it was the first time in many years that Gibbs was apologizing for doing something wrong and he'd just thanked him, too. Apocalypse must've started.

"DiNozzo, I don't say thing like this, but over the years, the things you've done for me-" he tilted his head. "I can't repay you." he'd always said that whatever anyone of them had done for the others, would be merely counted as doing their jobs, but if he was honest with himself, he always knew sometimes it was way more than that and Tony had gone beyond and above a lot of time.

"Gibbs." Tony was getting uncomfortable. This wasn't about repay and Tony knew Gibbs knew it; so the reason why the older man was acting so uncharacteristically was lost to him. "That's what we do. We don't do it to be repaid later. What's this really about?"

"No... It's not about that, but you've never let me down. Never. But I can list the times that_ I _have done that. I sure did let you down, last night."

"Then why did you? Why did you ignore another of your own rules again?" he thought that now that Gibbs was willing to talk for a change, maybe he could actually get some answers.

Gibbs swallowed. "Thought you were calling about a case and would get the memo when I didn't answer the phone; knew you'd take charge."

Tony frowned. "You do realize that I don't call you unless it's urgent, right?"

"I _know_ that, but at that moment my mind was elsewhere. I was just angry that the director might give us another case when he'd given us the day off and that I couldn't be left alone with my thoughts and memories for one single night and that cases never stop coming. We're not the only investigators out there."

"Alright, but why did you decline my call?" Tony asked wearily.

Gibbs' frown deepened. "What? I didn't do that. I just-"

"My second call." Tony clarified.

"I di-..." Gibbs suddenly remembered and closed his eyes. "Damn. I didn't decline it. I... I threw the phone against the wall."

Tony's eyebrows shot up as he tilted his head slowly to the side. "You hate it that much when I give you a call? Thought that was reserved for your ex-wives."

Gibbs had the courtesy to look a bit ashamed and it still was something strange on Gibbs' face. "It's not that."

"Then what is it?" Tony frowned; he was suddenly so very tired of this conversation. "You set rules and you ignore them. I need help; I call you and you ignore my call and then when I call again you break your phone to get rid of my calls. I don't think there could be many different explanations for that."

"It's not _you_, DiNozzo." Gibbs sighed. "We weren't on call; I was tired and I would've done that anyway; no matter who was calling."

Well, it did sound like Gibbs. Tony bit his bottom lip and studied the older man. Could he put this behind him? Could he move on? Well, he couldn't exactly forget how much he'd been hurt by the older man's action and how at that moment he didn't feel like trusting Gibbs unconditionally again; but to tell the truth, the fact that Gibbs hadn't done what he had due to _resentment_ towards_ him_, made him feel a little bit better.

"For what is it worth, I really am sorry. Whenever I break one of my own rules, I end up screwing big time."

"Well, you didn't know I needed help, I guess." Tony shrugged with his good shoulder. "Despite what you think, it's not hard to imagine you moody and angry."

The corner of Gibbs' mouth pulled as he shook his head in amusement. Only DiNozzo would dare saying something like that to him. Even after so many years, neither Ziva, nor McGee would be so blunt towards him.

"You still trust me, right?" he hated to think that his mistakes had finally broken Tony's trust in him. It was one of the things he was proud to have; because he knew Tony didn't trust people easily.

Tony was quiet for a few seconds, contemplating his answer; but finally came to the conclusion that despite everything, Gibbs had merely made a mistake, maybe a huge one, but the older man really hadn't had any idea about Tony needing help. And knowing Gibbs, that one incident was enough for him to make sure it'd never happen again. With Gibbs, that much was clear. "To watch my six." Tony finally answered. "When you feel like it, apparently." he couldn't help adding the last part sarcastically.

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**... TBC ...**

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_**Clearly this conversation is not over yet and the next part of it is almost ready and I'll post it in a day or two.  
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_**Let me know what you think.**_

_**Thanks a lot for all the comments, PMs, alerts and faves.**_

_**Once again, my special gratitude goes to XX-Samantha-XX for being my BR.  
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**All mistakes are mine.**

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	6. Chapter 6

_**Longish A/N:** **For some reasons some anti-Tony readers always come across and leave reviews to show how much they disprove Tony-centric stories; it used to baffle me, now it only makes me laugh! Because seriously, everything about this story screams Tony-centric; the summary is clear, the category is clear; everything is, really; so why they choose to read it and keep doing so for a few chapters and then leave a review to bash the writer and the story is beyond me. I'm sorry, but that kinda means they're slow, or they would've got the picture by just reading the summary; then they could just turn around and read a story that appeals to them and they wouldn't have to waste their time with a Tony-centric story written by a Tony-fan, who, by the way, has never tried to hide her inclination towards Tony! **_

_**NOBODY is forcing you to read this story; if you want a Tim or Ziva centric story, go find it somewhere else. I understand and respect you if you don't like Tony or stories about him, but some of us do like him and would appreciate it if you could show us the same courtesy.  
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**_Quick help, though; check and see who the main character chosen by the author for the story is; that'd give you an idea, in case the summary and category fail to do so._**

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**_I'm thinking I should add this A/N to the first chapter of all my stories to make it clear that I DO NOT write stories that are not Tony-centric._**

**_..._**

**__****_That being said, I need to thank you all for your reviews; sorry I couldn't respond to you individually; not enough time between that chapter and this one. I read all of them, though and am so grateful you took the time to read the chapter and leave a review. I love to read your reviews, they help me see things from different POVs and they help me know whether or not I'm still doing it right._**

**__****_Hope you enjoy this chapter._**

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_"You still trust me, right?" he hated to think that his mistakes had finally broken Tony's trust in him. It was one of the things he was proud to have; because he knew Tony didn't trust people easily._

_Tony was quiet for a few seconds, contemplating his answer; but finally came to the conclusion that despite everything, Gibbs had merely made a mistake, maybe a huge one, but the older man really hadn't had any idea about Tony needing help. And knowing Gibbs, that one incident was enough for him to make sure it'd never happen again. With Gibbs, that much was clear. "To watch my six." Tony finally answered. "When you feel like it, apparently." he couldn't help adding the last part sarcastically._

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Gibbs visibly flinched this time. "That's not true."

"Gibbs, let's be honest here, shall we? This wasn't the first time I've found myself with no backup. Occasionally when you, daresay, get feed up with me, you turn a blind eye to things that might happen. Sure, you make sure we are all safe when we're on a case; at least when you're _not_ busy ignoring rule number 10; but you gotta admit you don't care about anything else that's not work-related."

Gibbs wasn't sure how he felt. Part of him was angry at the younger man for accusing him of not being a proper partner, but part of him knew the younger man was right and felt like an ass for doing the things Tony said he had. "I've made mistakes, I know. But I'll always have your back."

"I know. That's why I say I trust you with my six. I just might not ever call you again when I need help." Tony didn't feel bad for voicing his thoughts. Throughout the years, whenever he'd felt Gibbs was wrong, he'd found a way to either confront the older man privately or voice his anger, so it wasn't a surprise that he was doing it again; they were alone in the room and it was the best opportunity for him to let his Boss know how he actually felt.

"This will never happen again." Gibbs wanted to be angry and yell; he wanted to tell the younger man that he hadn't been exactly Mr. Perfect, himself, but surprisingly, he managed to suppress his anger. This wasn't about Tony's mistakes; the younger man had earned the right to vent.

"God I hope not." Tony closed his eyes.

That wasn't exactly reassuring, but there was something else that was bothering Gibbs, "You said you trusted me, _partially_," he winced inwardly at that word, "with your _six_. What about everything else?" the older agent didn't know where it'd come from, but Tony's silence that followed his question scared him.

Something crossed Tony's eyes, but then he blinked and it was gone and the next moment Tony had a smile plastered on his face and said, "What's with the questions?"

That didn't escape Gibbs' notice that Tony'd evaded his question and it was unsettling to think Tony might not trust him completely anymore; that, after all, he actually _had_ lost Tony's complete trust.

"A lot of things have changed, Gibbs." Tony said quietly when he read the hurt in Gibbs' eyes and then he looked away. "Just-"

"I've made too many mistakes." That was more of a statement than a question.

"Not just you. We all have. But can we please not do this?" Tony wasn't up for opening his heart and pouring out years of pain and hurt feelings.

He'd just recently come to terms that he and Gibbs weren't exactly friends; that Gibbs didn't see him as an equal even when they weren't working; that he was just a boss who admittedly cared really more than any other boss would, but would never let his subordinate forget his place. And he was mad at himself for taking so long to understand it and he didn't think he'd ever be ready to explain those issues to Gibbs. Of course, he'd still listen to his boss if he gave him an advice and he'd share some stuff with him between a crime scene and the Navy Yard, the things that his boss would find out about, anyway; but he wouldn't go out of his way to share everything anymore; he wouldn't go to his Boss' place and he wouldn't bare his heart the way he used to do. Not when the older man always tried his hardest to hide things from him and not when he had, on more than one occasion, failed to have his back when it came to personal stuff.

Besides, Tony was pretty sure that Gibbs hadn't signed for being a father figure when he'd offered him a job. He couldn't blame him for having enough on his plate without him adding to it. It wasn't fair to expect those things from the older man.

Gibbs, for his part, wanted to get to the bottom of it, but he knew Tony was already hurting, both physically and emotionally. So he dropped the subject, for the time being.

He knew that even though Tony had, to some degree, forgiven him for ignoring his calls the other night, he still felt hurt for being left alone like he didn't matter, and knowing the younger man pretty well, Gibbs knew that incident would probably add to his insecurities and Tony wouldn't stop hurting anytime soon; he knew DiNozzo would probably hide even more behind his masks, thinking that he shouldn't have relied on the others so much, in the first place.

He'd once promised the younger man that he'd always have his back, come hell or high water. He'd also promised himself that he wouldn't be like the younger man's father; he wouldn't neglect him and those were the exact things he'd done. He'd ignore Tony's calls, he hadn't have his back and he'd neglected him. And he couldn't forget that recently, they hadn't been exactly close, either and Gibbs knew he had only himself to blame for it. He had been the one who was keeping Tony at arm length and had distanced himself. He couldn't blame Tony for not wanting to talk to him or not trusting him with personal stuff, anymore.  
Well, maybe it was time he stopped being a bastard and explained a few things to Tony. That is if he could actually find a reason for his actions; but well, maybe it was time he let Tony in again and regained his trust.

He vowed to himself that he'd start fixing things when this case was over and Tony was safe. He'd invite Tony to his place and over a few meals and some beer, maybe they could start talking again. Just like old days. And while he was at it, he'd make Tony see that he was actually sorry for treating him so poorly and for not being there when he was supposed to be. He'd make Tony see he hadn't turned out to be just like his old man.

"You need to talk to Ziva and McGee, too." Gibbs said after a few minutes of silence and noticed that Tony's eyes instantly darkened. "They're worried about you and feel bad for ignoring your calls."

"I'm sure they are." Tony snorted. "What they did wasn't like what you did, Gibbs. They picked up the phone, said a few chosen words and then hung up. Didn't even let me talk. I don't think I want to talk about it with them."

Gibbs's eyes hardened. He had no idea how those calls had actually gone. "So you're gonna let that slide, then?"

"That's pretty much what I've been doing for years now, isn't it?" Tony said coldly with a hint of accusation in his tone. It wasn't like the insubordination and sometimes hostile reactions from the junior agents on the team were anything new. And if Gibbs _hadn't_ noticed those things and hadn't noticed how Tony always let them get away with it, then maybe he wasn't a leading material anymore.

Of course, Tony was blaming himself, too. He shouldn't have acted like nothing had happened when they'd shown other signs of disrespect and insubordination.

"DiNozzo-"

"I'll handle it my own way. I won't let it go unnoticed. Not anymore. I might not want to talk about it, but I'm too tired to act like they've done nothing wrong. Enough is enough."

Gibbs didn't know how to feel. On one hand, he didn't want the dynamic of his team to be ruined and that was why he'd always kept quiet, which proved to be the wrong thing to do now that he was looking back at everything; on the other hand, it seemed like that so-called dynamic was already costing his SFA too much.

In the past, he'd ignored things in hope that his agents would work things out on their own; so now, he'd keep quiet again, letting Tony handle things however he thought was suitable. He'd only add some weight on the fact that as the Senior Field Agent, Tony was their superior and would make sure everyone knew it merited respect and subordination. "You do that." he nodded. "I'll have your back."

Tony stared at him for some seconds and then smiled a crooked smile; getting the meaning behind Gibbs' word, he nodded his understanding and silently hoped that his Boss wouldn't forget his own words like he had so many times before.

**.**

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**... TBC ...**

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**_A/N: There will be more talks; but for now, the next one will probably be with McGee and then it'll be time for some actions._  
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** _I'd love to know what you think.  
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_**Special thanks to XX-Samantha-XX for being such a wonderful friend and BR.  
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**All mistakes are mine.**

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